Is Inheritance Legitimate?: Ethical and Economic Aspects of Wealth Transfers

by Guido Erreygers (Editor), Toon Vandevelde (Editor)

Overview

The debate on inheritance and inheritance taxation has always been linked with the " efficiency versus equity issue". Some consider inheritance taxes as highly appropriate means to bring forth more economic equality, especially equality in starting conditions. Others openly doubt the effectiveness of inheritance taxes in this domain, and point out that the negative effects may outweigh the positive. Some go as far as to say that high inheritance taxes threaten fundamental ethical values and should therefore be abolished. In this book both economists and philosophers try to disentangle these and related theoretical issues. It gives an overview of what economists and philosophers have to say on the matter, and confronts and discusses two radically opposed reform proposals.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783642083013
Publisher:	Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Publication date:	12/06/2010
Series:	Ethical Economy
Edition description:	Softcover reprint of hardcover 1st ed. 1997
Pages:	236
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.24(d)

Table of Contents

1 Inheritance Taxation, Equal Opportunities and the Desire of Immortality.- 2 Views on Inheritance in the History of Economic Thought.- 3 Bequests Motives and Models of Inheritance: A Survey of the Literature.- 4 Bequest and Inheritance: Empirical Issues and France-U.S. Comparison.- 5 Bequests and Inheritance Taxation: A Comment.- 6 Distributive Justice and Inheritance.- 7 The Hidden Costs of Inheritance Taxation.- 8 Nothing Wrong With Unearned Wealth? A Comment on Haslett and Bracewell-Milnes.- 9 A Reply to Bracewell-Milnes.- 10 Response to David Haslett.- Index of Names.- List of Authors.